The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
۞ Nuun* – by oath of the pen and by oath of what is written by it. (Alphabet of the Arabic language; Allah and to whomever He reveals, know their precise meanings.) 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 And verily, thine shall be a reward neverending 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 16 Lo! We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next morning, 17 And they made not the exception. 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 Then they turned to each other reproaching. 30 They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed! 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such is the torment. And the torment of the Hereafter is far greater; if they but knew. 33